Comments for photonicsmedia.net

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (3 of 5) by jolaw

jolaw — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:50:41 +0000

Lucas, you can get soil testing kits from nusery, garden shop, or hardware store. They are inexpensive and last quite a number of tests. The pH kit only tests pH. This is particularly important if you have cropping vegetables because different plants have their own optimal pH whcich they can absorb nutrients from the soil. Soil that is too sour or too sweet locks in these essential elements.

As for contanimation, I think that would be a pretty specialised kit. We did have a soil scientist come our garden in Perth to test for the ‘mysterious’ death for the plants in our front yard.

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (4 of 5) by jolaw

jolaw — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:32:08 +0000

Mmm…. do you think I should also start a series of illustrated books focusing on the character of ‘Farmer Red’? I often find the practice of illustrated children’s books attractive. (My first ambition was to become a manga artist. I actually completed one book, which took me a whole year. It was about how my cousin, Ellen, came to marry a bear. I was 14.)

Reminiscences aside, systemtic earthworks are very appealing. The scene of harvested hay bale dotted across large area of land is just impressive - installation works would have a hard time competing with that.

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (5 of 5) by jolaw

jolaw — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:23:23 +0000

I often wondered about that too. According to Dr. Tony Young, the author of ‘A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia’, the distinction between the terms, toadstool and mushroom, has no scientific basis. Rather, it is in common usage; namely that mushroom is edible and toadstool is toxic. Dr. Young’s opinion is that the application of the two terms is unhelpful as the distinction is often made on a unscientific basis that does not distinguishing whether a marcro fungs is truely toxic. I guess what he is saying what we call mushroom and what we call toadstool seem to be determined culturally. Sometimes mushroom is applied to quite poisonous species and sometimes a fungus is called toadstool simply because we don’t eat it (but other people might and it’s not toxic).

As for toad and frog, the distinction seems to be one of appearance and characteristics. Like toadstool and mushroom, this distinction is not taxonmic.

Comment on Minor snow: Winter takes hold (1 of 5) by Jade Markham

Jade Markham — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:44:05 +0000

Hot off the press…. “Small scale Austi eatery usurps Tetsuya Wakuda for big Westinghouse endorsment”.

Comment on Start of winter: Pheasants enter water and turn into monster clams (5 of 5) by Jade Markham

Jade Markham — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:55:09 +0000

This is such a sad story.
The part with the skip reference made me shudder.
I had the same kind of experience myself,
with my usual gusto,
talking to Keith or Mike or Paul one day.
They take their knowledge for granted,
when it needs to be conserved.
They are all fatalists, you can tell,
they have seen it all,
from film to video to dvd, from sides to av and powerpoint,
can’t blame them though.
They ascribe to ‘obselete’
I personally won’t have a bar of it.
Can’t we just start again, with the knowledge that we have now?

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (3 of 5) by Lucas in Petersham

Lucas in Petersham — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:41:02 +0000

hey jo, where do you get these soil testing kits from? is there any way to test other things than ph level? levels of contamination, say?

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (4 of 5) by Lucas in Petersham

Lucas in Petersham — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:37:50 +0000

it’s funny how land art, originally basing its forms on the processes of the farming and earthmoving industries, now becomes a form which you can refer back to as a template for your gardening work.

I like these “Farmer Red” entries. They remind me of the narrative in a Richard Scarry book.

Comment on Minor snow: Rainbows hide (5 of 5) by Lucas in Petersham

Lucas in Petersham — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:42:24 +0000

ok jo - public education time!

what’s the difference between a toadstool and a mushroom?
and while we’re at it, between a toad and a frog?

i love fungus. john cage, too, was an avid “mushroom hunter” apparently…

Comment on Start of winter: Water begins to freeze (2 of 5) by jolaw

jolaw — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:26:04 +0000

All true berries are high in anti-oxidants and the freshly picked soft fruits just can’t be beat. In our research, we were disappointed that we can’t really grow berries in the coastal region as they prefer the cold highlands (or inland areas). When Redmond first reported that there were raspberry growing up in the escarpment, we were most excited.

Some people do grow them and use the fruit for jams. For me to go to the trouble to make perserve though, I have to be excited about that the food and I am afraid that all the anticipation just left me a bit down on them.

Comment on Start of winter: Water begins to freeze (1 of 5) by jolaw

jolaw — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:38:13 +0000

In my research, I found that there are mushroom hunters of various kinds. There are those who are after the edible sorts, those who sought the Psilocybe varieties(aka magic mushrooms), and those who seek out the wildest, most bizzare forms to photograph.

As much as I love the idea of foraging for food in the general surrounds, the difficulties I experienced in just identifying this one simple fungus, I am not too tempted to dine on any wild ones soon. The photographic pursuit is much more attractive.